GULF SHORES, Ala. — With all the legalities of buying a home, purchasing a foreclosure creates added pressure to protect yourself as a buyer.

There is an additional amount of precautions to consider and legal work needed to avoid problems.

“There’s risks,” Craig Olmstead, co-owner of Olmstead and Olmstead, said. “Always have a lawyer. It gives purchasers advice on how to protect themselves.”

Nancy Harmon, real estate broker and owner of H Brokerage Co. Inc. said there has to be extensive footwork when trying to purchase a foreclosure.

“Before you make an offer on a foreclosure you need to have your agent pull up the foreclosure deed,” Harmon said. “You can find out when the house was foreclosed on because in Alabama there is a one year right of redemption.”

The right of redemption law in Alabama gives a foreclosed owner, or the person who holds the right to redeem, one year to buy the house back for the foreclosed amount.

Olmstead said if a house is in its final months of the right of redemption year there is a less likely chance the foreclosed owner will buy the house back.

He advised getting a title examination of the property and title insurance, which is hard to do with foreclosures.

If a buyer purchases a home for more than the foreclosed price, Harmon said it’s important to get an indemnity bond to protect the excess money.

A dispute over improvements can be caused during a redemption and Olmstead suggests holding off on those until the one year right of redemption is over.

Once a foreclosed owner can buy back their house, the timeline could run as short as a few weeks and the new owners must move out.

There are rules to follow when recovering a foreclosed home, and while it can all be done without assistance, Olmstead suggests using a lawyer in case there is any dispute.

“You have one year from date of foreclosure,” Olmstead said. “Of course you never want to wait a full year. Waiting till the last moment can create problems.”

If a foreclosed homeowner raises the funds to purchase their house back, the new owners must be sent a notification, advisedly by certified letter, requesting the cost of the house and the needed improvements made to the house.

Improvements made must be proven as needed and not desired.

The new owner will have 10 days to respond or they will lose the right to request payment for improvements.

If a response is not received the redeemer should file a lawsuit to have the property rewarded back.

Editors note: Each week foreclosure notices seem to dominate the legal pages. As a result, The Islander has been focusing on foreclosures. Last week, we explained what it meant to foreclose. Today’s article will focus on what to consider when purchasing a foreclosure. The final installation of the series will highlight the affects foreclosure has on the real estate market and economy. This is the second part of a three day series. While the information in the following story is provided by a laywer it is not a substitute for legal advice when handling a foreclosure.